Ministry of Communications
IPPB Launched in West Bengal along with the Entire Country Common People are Empowered Today: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Kolkata, September 1, 2018
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today launched the India Post Payments Bank  nation-wide. Simultaneous launch events were held today at all 650 branches and 3250 access points of IPPB throughout the country. As with the rest of India, In West Bengal also IPPB was launched in Kolkata, Asansol, Barasat, Burdwan and Siliguri HO for Darjeeling along with 21 additional branches and 135 access points . In Kolkata the launch event was graced by the Union Minister of Law & Justice, Electronics and IT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad. In Siliguri, the Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Shri S S Ahluwalia was present for the launching ceremony. In Burdwan and Asansol respectively, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Chemical & Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya and the Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Shri Babul Supriyo Baral were present. In Barasat, the function was attended by MP, Rajya Sabha, Smt. Roopa Ganguly and MLA-cum-Actor, Shri Chiranjit Chakraborty.
Unveiling the plaque of IPPB, Kolkata formally Shri Prasad said, the launch of this bank is a historic one. He reminisced a past incident on this occasion as Communication Minister when Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi asked him to take a special note of post office as well as to take care of postman, which was quite down then. The 1 lakh 33 thousand vast networks of postal services were not properly utilised at that time. The Minister launched E-commerce and the vast network of small post offices and branch post offices began to work as agents of E-commerce works. The postal revenue straight away jumped by 80 per cent within one and half years, as the postmen of India rose to the occasion. He saluted the postal employees who have worked hard to deliver the Gangotri Ganga water and the water of Rishikesh Ganga all over the country and the work for this is still going. The minister appreciated the works done by post offices and postman for transforming and reforming entire India into positivity. He even spoke on the opening of AADHAR-based bank accounts and pointed out that, through Jan Dhan AADHAR mobile, 32 crore bank accounts have been opened. While deliberating on the digital profile of India, the minister said, at present, 121 crore mobile phones, 45 crores smart phones and 122 crore AADHAR cards are there in India. He even pointed out that Digital India is designed to bridge the digital divide between digital haves and have nots.
Speaking on IPPB, the minister said, it is a technology by which the common people are to be empowered today. He said once the IPPB starts operating, the revenue, the credibility, the accountability and prestige of postal department will reach a height. It’s a revolutionary step in the field of financial inclusion, the minister reiterated. It will make village system more strong he added.
In Asansol, the Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Shri Babul Supriyo Baral said, the objective is to provide an accessible, affordable and trusted bank service to the common man. He said, the bank will provide a vast array of banking products across multiple channels , using the bank’s state-of-the art technology platform. He emphasised that the postman will play a pivotal role in facilitating banking services in remotest corners of the country. Shri Supriyo lauded the role of postmen and Grameen Dak Sevaks in the banking system in rural areas. He emphasised that the bank is an initiative to reach the unbanked areas of the banking sector by leveraging the potential of vast network of 1.55 lakh post offices to fulfil the Prime Minister’s vision of financial inclusion.